How To Rewire Plug End For Headphones

Learning how to rewire plug end for headphones may save you some cash when you consider the price of the ear buds today. If you have a quality set of ear phones, then it will pay to save them, as they can get expensive. If you rewire plug ends, It will save you the trouble having to find a new set of headphones, and if you do it right, you may have a better plug end then the original.

There are a few things your going to need to rewire plug ends for headphones:

Quality New 1/8 Connector. For best sound, you will need a gold tipped connector.

Soldering gun and solder

Soldering Flex

Small Phillips screwdriver

Wire snippers and strippers

Two part epoxy

Get rid of the bad. Use your wire snippers to cut off the old end. Use your strippers to cut back the outside layer of covering, about ¾ of an inch. This will allow for you to be able to strip the wire enough to solder the ends to the connector with a good connection. Now you should see three wires, one blue, one read, and one non-insulated. Strip back the inner wires only about half of an inch.

Prepare the tip. You need to take the tip apart, so unscrew the end from the tip. You need to slide this on to the headphones wires end. Keep the threads of the end facing the end of the wire to let you screw it back together once your done. You need to make a choice: use the holding screw or use a direct solder. If your going to solder directly, remove the screws to use the holes for the wire.

Make the connection. Flex the ends of your wire. This will clean the tip and make for a better connection. With your wire though the end of the connector and your soldering gun ready, hold the solder to the tip of your wire and melt a small amount of solder on the tip. This will adhere your wires to the connecter's leg. Your wiring should be as follows: red to the short middle leg of the connector; blue or black to the short side of the connector;, and non-insulated to the long side leg of the connector.

Make it stick. Once you have tacked your wires to the connector, lightly solder them for a secure connection. Try to keep only a small amount of solder on the connector to reduce the chance of the tips shorting out. Lightly tug on the wires once you have finished your soldering to ensure a strong connection. Mix a small amount of epoxy and coat the wires with the mixture. Be sure not to put so much on the connection that you can not thread the end back on. The epoxy will secure the connection and help insulate the bare wires. Once the epoxy is dry, you can trim some back to fit the end back to the tip.

You now have a strong plug end, possibly stronger then the original. One tip, once you have the ends soldered, you may want to test your headphones for clarity before you apply the epoxy. In order to do this, use electrical tape around the connections on the tip, then around the whole bare area. Screw the back in place so you have a place to pull the end back out of you stereo unit . While listening to the audio, move the wire back and forth, up and down, and twist the end in the unit just a little to make sure the connections are holding properly. This is not necessary, but it will make sure the connections in your headphones are sound and may keep you from having to redo your work. Once the epoxy is in place, this could be quite a task.